Why did we develop Meerkat™?

We asked a question: What are we missing in identifying and filling gaps in substation security?

The incident that started it all...

On April 16, 2013, the Metcalf transmission substation in California was attacked by gunmen who fired on 17 electrical transformers, causing over $15 million in equipment damage. This incident prompted the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to develop the CIP-014 standard for physical security measures, which became effective in January 2015.

Then more targeted attacks

Saboteurs shot into two substations in Moore County, North Carolina, on December 3, 2022, shutting down power to 45,000 customers - almost everyone in the county. Then, later that month, on a frigid Christmas Day in Washington, vandals attacked four substations of Tacoma Public Utilities and Puget Sound Energy, knocking out power to 14,000 customers.

These incidents underscore the inadequacy of traditional analysis methods in addressing evolving threats within the industry. Not only do some of these incidents result in inconvenient loss of electricity supply, but mass power outages can also affect healthcare, public safety and even national security. How utilities respond to physical threats can seriously affect costs and operations.  

The data

According to data from the United States Department of Energy (DOE), electric disturbances caused by physical breach events have been increasing. 

Physical breach events—defined here as physical attacks, vandalism, theft and suspicious activity—accounted for less than a quarter of all electric disturbance events reported to the DOE in 2021. By 2023, that number had risen to account for more than half of the year’s reports. Unfortunately, this disturbing trend is expected to continue in the coming years.

What's at stake?

These physical attacks have significant impacts on utilities, from widespread outages, costly equipment damage, delays in repairs due to replacement equipment availability and other heightened operational challenges. They also threaten national security, economic stability and community safety.

Mitigations, however, can be costly - with 'build around everything' approaches sometimes cost millions of dollars. Furthermore, legacy assessment methods are subjective and take time and resources, leaving critical equipment vulnerable.